on, Bill bawled at the top of his voice: 'I call on
Detective Bluegum to restore order in the Court.'

Bunyip ran into the witness-box and, with a ready wit, shouted: 'I have
dreadful news to impart to this honourable Court.'

All eyes, of course, turned on Bunyip, who, raising his hand with an
impressive gesture, said in thrilling tones: 'From information
received, it has been discovered that the Puddin' was poisoned at
ten-thirty this morning.'

This news restored order at once. The Judge turned pale as lard, and the
Usher, having a darker complexion, turned as pale as soap. The Puddin'
couldn't turn pale, so he let out a howl of terror.

'Poisoned,' said the Usher, feebly. 'How, how?'

'Poisoned,' said the Judge, feeling his stomach with trembling hands.
'Until this moment I was under the delusion that a somewhat unpleasant
sensation of being, as it were, distended, was merely due to having
eaten seven slices. But if--'

[Illustration]

'If,' said the Usher, in a quavering voice--

'If you take a poisoned Puddin'
And that poisoned Puddin' chew
The sensations that you suffer
I should rather say were due
To the poison in the Puddin'
In the act of Poisoning You.
And I think the fact suffices
Through this dreadfulest of crimes,
As you've eaten seven slices
You've been poisoned seven times.'

'It was your idea having it up on the bench,' said the Judge, angrily,
to the Usher. 'Now,

'If what you say is true,
That idea you'll sadly rue,
The poison I have eaten is entirely due to you.
It's by taking your advice
That I've had my seventh slice,
So I'll tell you what I'll do
Why, I'll beat you black and blue,'

and with that he hit the Usher a smart crack on the head with a port
bottle.

'Don't strike a poisoned man,' shouted the Usher; but the Judge went on
smacking and cracking him with the bottle, singing--

'The emotion of pity
Need never be sought
In a Judge who's been poisoned
By Puddin' and Port.'

In desperation, the Usher leapt off the bench, and landed head first in
the dock, where he stuck like a sardine.

[Illustration]

'Too bad, too bad,' shouted the puddin'-thieves. 'Crowding in here where
there's only room for two.' Before they could get rid of the Usher, the
Judge bounded over the bench and commenced whacking them with the
bottle, singing--

'As I find great satisfaction
Hitting anybody who
Can offer that distract